2 Canadian warships colide

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Algonquin and HMCS Protecteur are expected to return to Esquimalt harbour at 4:00 p.m. Saturday following a collision with one another yesterday at approximately 11 a.m. PST while conducting exercise manoeuvres en route to Hawaii. There were no reported injuries.

“The Royal Canadian Navy will be conducting an investigation into this unfortunate incident in order to determine exactly what happened,” said Commodore Bob Auchterlonie, Commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific.

The two warships were conducting towing exercises, which require close-quarters manoeuvring, when the incident occurred.

HMCS Algonquin sustained significant damage to her hangar on her port side while HMCS Protecteur sustained damage of a lesser degree to her bow. While the full impact on the ships’ future sailing schedules has yet to be determined, HMCS Algonquin will no longer deploy to Asia Pacific region as planned.

A Board of Inquiry will be convened to further investigate the incident and circumstances surrounding it, and will make recommendations as to how to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future. More information about the incident itself will be released when available.